As she leaves, Clinton sounds warning over Syria

BRADLEY KLAPPERAssociated Press Published: February 1, 2013 10:10 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is issuing a parting warning about Iranian involvement in Syria's civil war and the rising threat of a larger regional conflict growing from it.

As she winds up her tenure as secretary of state, Clinton says, "I've done what was possible to do."

But she calls Syria's violence "distressing on all fronts."

Speaking to a roundtable of journalists on the eve of her departure, Clinton said Tehran is dispatching more personnel and better military supplies to Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime. And it is working with its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, to fight Syrian rebel forces.

Clinton also criticized Russia for its continued financial and military support to Assad.

And she defended a much-maligned leader of Syria's opposition for suggesting negotiations with Assad's regime.